RAAF C-130 Hercules transport aircraft were also involved in providing logistic support for deployed forces. The Special Forces were involved with the establishment of the US-led coalition's first Forward Operating Base (Camp Rhino) southwest of Kandahar in November 2001, followed by the capture of Kandahar International Airport in December 2001. The initial ADF commitment in Afghanistan concluded in December 2002 when the Special Air Service Task Group was withdrawn.[3] Following this date until 2005 Australia's total contribution to efforts in Afghanistan were two officers attached to the United Nations and the Coalition land mine clearing force.[4]

All three squadrons of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) were deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002. The dates of these deployments were:[5]

A 300-strong Special Operations Task Group was deployed to support the Reconstruction Taskforce in April 2007, including a Commando company-group, elements of the SASR, and an integral combat service support team.[7] In addition to radar crews, logistics and intelligence officers, and security personnel, this brought the number of Australian personnel in Afghanistan to 950 by mid-2007, with further small increases to 1,000 in mid-2008, 1,100 in early 2009[11] and 1,550 in mid-2009.[12] These increases occurred in spite of opinion polls indicating that public support for the deployment was decreasing, with a poll released in September 2008 finding that a majority of those surveyed were opposed to Australia's continued military involvement in the country.[13]

In early 2009, a number of Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) were embedded into the Afghan National Army battalions serving in the 4th (ANA) Brigade, 205th Hero Corps, in Uruzgan as part of the Australian mission to mentor and partner the ANA within the province. Consequently, the RTF was renamed the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force.[12] On 16 January 2009, TrooperMark Donaldson, a member of the SASR, was awarded Australia's highest gallantry medal, the Victoria Cross for Australia. Donaldson was awarded the medal for exposing himself to enemy fire to protect injured Australian troops and then rescuing an Afghan interpreter under heavy enemy fire during a contact on 2 September 2008.[14]

A modest Australian force remained in Afghanistan over this period and was involved in counter-insurgency operations in Uruzgan province in conjunction with Dutch, US and other coalition forces. MRTF was again renamed to the Mentoring Task Force in early 2010. Based around a combined armsbattalion-sized battle group, it consisted of motorised infantry and cavalry force elements supported by engineers, as well as coalition enablers including artillery and aviation assets. The Rotary Wing Group flying CH-47D Chinooks, the Force Logistics Asset and an RAAF air surveillance radar unit were also based in Kandahar.[15][16] A further 800 Australian logistic personnel were also based in the Middle East in support of Operation Slipper, but were located outside of Afghanistan.[12] Meanwhile, detachments of maritime patrol and transport aircraft continued to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, based out of Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.[17]

Over the course of the operation, as the size of Australia's contribution has fluctuated and the scope of operations undertaken has evolved, the number and type of units deployed has also changed. A snapshot of the order of battle from March 2011, when approximately 1,550 Australians were deployed to Afghanistan, is as follows:[18]

Commandos from 2nd Commando Regiment boarding a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter with Afghan National Army in 2012

At the end of October 2013, Prime Minister Tony Abbott traveled to Afghanistan with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten for a special ceremony at the Australian base in Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan. He told a gathering of troops and Afghan leaders that "Australia's longest war is ending. Not with victory, not with defeat, but with, we hope, an Afghanistan that is better for our presence here." Afghan forces were scheduled to take over running of the camp in mid-December. The last combat troops were withdrawn on 15 December 2013; however, approximately 400 personnel remain in Afghanistan as trainers and advisers, and are stationed in Kandahar and Kabul.[19][20]

On 1 July 2014, as part of the restructuring of Australian operations in the Middle East, Operation Slipper was split into three different operations: ongoing operations in Afghanistan as part of ISAF under Operation Slipper; maritime security operations in the Middle East and counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden under Operation Manitou; and support operations to Slipper and Manitou from a number of locations in the Gulf States, primarily the United Arab Emirates, under Operation Accordion. Approximately 400 personnel are deployed on Operation Slipper, another 550 as part of Accordion, and 250 on Manitou. Australian operations in Afghanistan were scheduled to continue until the ISAF mission concludes in December 2014, while its contribution to the NATO-led "train, advise, assist" mission post-2014 was still to be confirmed.[21] The final Heron UAV detachment left Afghanistan in December 2014.[22]

Operation Slipper concluded on 31 December 2014, with Australia's "train, advise and assist" mission in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission being conducted under the code-name Operation Highroad after this date. Approximately 400 Australian personnel are deployed as part of the new mission, including personnel in mentoring and advisory roles, as well as medical personnel, force protection and logistic support.[23] Over 26,000 Australian personnel have served in Afghanistan.[24]

Since October 2001 the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has maintained a continuous presence in and around Iraqi territorial waters as part of Operation Slipper and subsequent operations. There were four major rotations of RAN ships to this area of operations between December 2001 and March 2003. The primary focus of these rotations was to conduct Maritime Interception Operations as part of a US, Australian and British force enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions against Iraq. The first rotation consisted of Her Majesty's Australian Ships (HMAS) Sydney, Adelaide and Kanimbla. These ships were followed in February 2002 by HMA Ships Canberra, Newcastle and Manoora and again in July 2002 by HMAS Arunta and Melbourne.[25]

HMAS Kanimbla departed from Sydney, Australia on 20 January 2003 again bound for the Persian Gulf under the mission objectives of Operation Bastille. On arriving in Bahrain on 16 February she reverted to the original mission objects of Operation Slipper (that of enforcing UN sanctions against Iraq). On 20 March 2003, HMA Ships Kanimbla, Anzac and Darwin participated in the combat phase of the 2003 Iraq War, codenamed Operation Falconer; in April Kanimbla supported Operation Baghdad Assist, delivering medical supplies that were transported to Baghdad.[25] During these operations the Australian ships pioneered a number of techniques that increased the effectiveness of Maritime Interception Force operations leading to them intercepting and boarding about 1,700 vessels in this period. Four Australian naval officers commanded the multinational force at various times during the course of the operation.[citation needed] Detachments from the Army's 16th Air Defence Regiment provided point defence to the Kanimbla and Manoora during their deployments.[26]

From 2009 Australian warships and aircraft in the Middle East have also been involved in counter-piracy operations and maritime interdiction off the Horn of Africa as part of Combined Task Force 151.[27]

Operation Slipper is notable for the first Australian combat deaths since the Vietnam War, and to date all casualties have occurred during operations in Afghanistan.[29] 41 Australian soldiers have been killed and 261 wounded, the majority since October 2007.[1][30][31] Another Australian was killed while serving with the British Army.[30][32]

From March 2011, the ADF in Afghanistan has exclusive rights to a leased Mi-26 Halo heavy lift helicopter provided by PME International-Vertical T, enabling deployed forces to be less reliant on road transport.[33]

16 February: Sergeant Andrew Russell (SASR) becomes the first Australian killed in Afghanistan after his patrol vehicle struck a land mine.

March: Australian and coalition forces conduct a major offensive to clear the Paktia region along the border with Pakistan in Operation Anaconda. More than 500 Taliban were reported killed.[34]

2006

July: During Operation Perth Australian special forces troops, working together with Netherlands Korps Commandotroepen, killed 150 Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in nine days of fierce fighting in the Chora district, 40 kilometres (25 mi) north-east of Tarin Kowt in southern Afghanistan. The fighting was the heaviest experienced by Australian forces since the Vietnam War and saw six Australians wounded in action.[35]

2 September: Nine Australian Special Forces soldiers are wounded, including three seriously, during a major ambush on their patrol by insurgents.[36]

2009

16 January: Trooper Mark Donaldson (SASR) was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia for gallantry under heavy enemy fire during a contact on 2 September 2008.

March/April: Australian troops from the Special Operations Task Group and the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force killed at least 80 Taliban fighters in a major four-week operation in Helmand province. An Australian bomb disposal expert was killed and four others wounded.[37]

12 April: Heavy fighting during Operation Shak Hawel in the Chora Valley north of Tarin Kowt resulted in the Battle of Kakarak during which a large Taliban force unsuccessfully attempted to ambush an Australian combined arms platoon from MRTF-1. Insurgent casualties were heavy and believed to include 20 killed and 20 wounded, while there were no Australian casualties.[37]

Early May: A senior insurgent commander, Mullah Noorullah, was killed in a joint Australian operation after he and one other insurgent were tracked moving into a tunnel system by Special Forces in Oruzgan province. Noorullah was also understood to have been involved in the major battle with Afghan and Australian forces on 12 April.[38]

21–23 April: Australian Special Forces soldiers responding to a call for help from elders in Gizab in northern Uruzgan become involved in heavy fighting over several days, after local nationals staged an uprising against the shadow Taliban government. During the uprising residents of Gizab captured several Taliban fighters, and were then attacked by nearly a dozen insurgents in retaliation, with the town's local defence force, supported by the Australians and coalition aircraft, repelling the attack. The operation resulted in the clearance of the town and a number of insurgent casualties.[41][42]

21 June: Three Australian soldiers of the 2nd Commando Regiment were killed when the US UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter carrying them crashed in northern Kandahar Province.[46] The helicopter's US pilot was also killed, while a US crewman and the other seven Australian commandos aboard were also injured.[47][48][49]

24 August: Australian forces from 1st Mentoring Task Force and Afghan National Army soldiers are involved in intense fighting during a three-hour close quarters battle with Taliban forces in Deh Rahwood, in western Uruzgan during the Battle of Derapet. AH-64 Apache attack helicopters provided close air support before the combined Australian and Afghan patrol broke contact after inflicting heavy casualties on the Taliban who were forced to retreat into the mountains. One Australian was killed in the fighting, while a large number of insurgents were known to have been killed.[50]

2011

30 May: An Australian Army CH-47D Chinook helicopter crashed during a resupply operation in Zabul Province, killing one Australian and injuring five others. The Chinook was unable to be recovered, and was subsequently destroyed in place.[51]

9 September: Australian forces from MTF-3 are heavily engaged during the Battle of Doan.[52]

30 October: incident in which three Australians were killed as well as an Afghan interpreter and seven injured after an ANA soldier turned his gun against the Australians. This event marked the bloodiest incident for Australian forces in the Afghanistan War, and the worst for the ADF since Vietnam.[53]

The cost of operations in Afghanistan has represented the largest operational expenditure by the ADF in most financial years since 2001/02. The yearly expenditure on Afghanistan by the ADF includess the figures below.